Winning distances in horse racing results

Q: What does 2 lengths mean in horse racing?

Youll hear commentators say, for example, that a horse has won by two-lengths. The first length of any winning margin is always the length of the winning horse, with any further lengths measured by the gap between the tail of the winner and the nose of the runner-up.

See all of today's horse racing results or use the Select Date tab to search past results.

Table of Contents Show

Get the Latest Horse Racing Results at Racenet
Need Results For a Specific Track?
Looking For Pre-race Information?
Australian Horse Racing Winning Margins
Winning Margins in Australian Racing
Margins, Weight & Time
Horse Ratings Example
What is a winning distance in horse racing?
How do they measure distance in horse racing?
How do you read horse racing results?
What does 2 lengths mean in horse racing?

Get the Latest Horse Racing Results at Racenet

Our horse racing results section includes the dividends of the three TABs for win and place. The results will also display the exotics including quinella, exacta, trifecta, and the first four.

Approximately 15 – 30 minutes after each race, the full result with the finishing order is posted which includes:

Official margins
Overall times
Sectional information
Placegetters
Trainer information
Jockey information
Horse age
Breeding information

The starting price is also added with the final price, which is important for online punters who bet with corporate bookmakers.

Other details located in our horse race results section include race distance, prize money breakdown, weight carried by each horse, the grade of race, a link to each runner’s form, and an option to add horses to your blackbook.

Here are some of the most popular tracks where you can find results for past races:

VIC

Flemington Results
Caulfield Results
Moonee Valley Results

NSW

Randwick Results
Rosehill Results
Newcastle Results

QLD

Sunshine Coast Results
Doomben Results
Eagle Farm Results

Need Results For a Specific Track?

You can find results for past races across all Australian race tracks as well as tracks in New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Looking For Pre-race Information?

Check out our horse racing form guide for the most comprehensive assessment of each race across Australia and overseas.

You can also check out our free horse racing tips section. For every TAB meeting in Australia, Racenet provides race tips including the top 4 selections and odds. We also provide selections for plenty of international meetings too!

Looking for the best odds for horse races? Our racing odds comparison tool helps you find the best value! Compare bookmakers, fluctuations and betting odds across all TAB horse races.

And lastly don’t forget to check out our live track conditions page. Get the latest track ratings, weather, humidity, wind and temperature conditions for all upcoming races!

Australian Horse Racing Winning Margins

Australian winning margins range from Dead Heat to a Length or more, and form guides can also have decimal margins which are easier for the layman to read and understand. Horse Racing Info has provided Aussie race winning margins below for easy reference.

Winning Margins in Australian Racing

Dead Heat
When the race judge cannot split two or more horses as they cross the finishing line together then the race is declared a 'Dead Heat'. A photo finish of the race will be carefully examined and a dead heat result declared if no margin can be found.

Nose
A nose or a short half head officially, is the smallest amount a horse can win by.

Head
A head is the next winning margin and is the length of a horse's head.

Neck
A neck is the next margin and approximately a quarter of a length. The decimal equivalent for the above would range from 0.05L to 0.25L, while from 0.25 to 0.50 would be considered a long neck.

After neck, winning margins are given out according to lengths, with the next margin being a half length, and a three quarter length, or 0.5L and 0.75L.

Length
A length is the distance of a horse from nose to tail and is shown in a form guide as 'len'
E.G. Race margins: 2 len * 4 len or decimally "2L * 4L".

One Length or more
Anything above one length will be shown in a racebook form guide as 1 1/4 len, 3 1/2 len, or 4 3/4 len, whereas the decimal equivalent would be shown as 1.25L, 3.5L and 4.75L.

Margins, Weight & Time

It is commonly considered that one length equals 1.5 kilograms in weight. Thereby, if a horse wins by 3 lengths then it has theoretically won by 4.5kgs. If this horse goes up 3kgs in weight for his next race against the same horses then he has 1.5kgs up his sleeve.

Those form analysts who do horse ratings for races use similar methods to give a rating figure to a horse.

Horse Ratings Example

Using the 1.5kgs equals one length example. If horse A was beaten 4 lens in a race with a race rating of 74, then horse A would have a final rating of 68, which is 74 minus (4 * 1.5) which is 6kgs. Doing ratings this way enables horses to be compared against each other by their rating figures, to find the highest rated runners.

Of course, the above figures are not set in stone, and are open to interpretation, but they provide a basic example of how ratings work. The further a horse has to travel, the more it will be affected by the weight it has to carry.

As far as time goes, 6 lengths is generally considered to equal one second in race time.

Check out our Betting Guide for more information on Australian racing.

What is a winning distance in horse racing?

The winning distance in a race will be the officially declared distance between the first two horses past the post that have completed the race, followed the correct course and carried the correct weight.

How do they measure distance in horse racing?

Distances are calculated on the elapsed time between each horse and then a scale known as the Lengths per Second Scale (Lps) is used dependent upon whether it is Flat or Jumps racing, the type of surface in use at the all-weather fixtures and the official going description issued on the day.

How do you read horse racing results?

Form runs from left to right, with the oldest races on the left and the most recent on the right..

The numbers 1-9 indicate the position the horse finished in the race..

The number 0 indicates that the horse finished outside the first 9..

The symbol – separates racing seasons..

What does 2 lengths mean in horse racing?

You'll hear commentators say, for example, that a horse has won by two-lengths. The first length of any winning margin is always the length of the winning horse, with any further lengths measured by the gap between the tail of the winner and the nose of the runner-up.